The Legend of Malefor: Heart of Darkness
by Maria Seinheart
Summary: Was Malefor born evil or was he truly a savior like the other purple dragons before him? This story depicts the life of Malefor from his birth to his fall into darkness.
1. Chapter 1

**The Legend of Malefor: Heart of Darkness**

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**A/N: It still made me curious on what was Malefor's past life. Was he a born hero, a born villain or did something really unforgettable happened during a point in his life? Possibilities are interesting and maybe just this once, I let Malefor steal the limelight. This is an original of mine and let me tell you that I read nothing concerning his past life if there's any.**

* * *

**Chapter 1: The Born Savior or Born Devil?**

On a planet known as Vetus Terra (Old Earth in English), dragons rule the planet. Much like their human counterpart living on Novus Terra (New Earth in English) in a separate realm, they have a government, educational system, social structure and many more. The only thing that makes the dragons different from the humans is that the dragons is that…well, everything on Vetus Terra is bigger since dragons are huge. It is the year 1800 M.M (Malum Millennium); exactly 10 generations after a great evil first ravaged the planet. The Overlord of Shadows, a dragon named Azurich, was hell-bent on controlling the entire of Vetus Terra and turning it into a world of the dead where his Horde can roam the world and terrorize all living creatures.

Azurich nearly succeeded in his ambition because only one dragon stood against him. As the Prophets have foreseen, he shall be the one who stands up against the Overlord of Shadows and his mighty Horde. Many hoped for the coming of this heroic dragon ever since the Prophets made this prophecy. However, until the year 1800, no word of this savior came nor was he seen. All those creatures that have life in them are still suffering from the wrath of Azurich. Then, in 1805 M.M, everything changed.

* * *

"I heard that this…savior of a dragon is born? Is it true?" Azurich asked one of his necromancers while rubbing two claws together.

"The rumor is still unconfirmed Lord Azurich but the signs are there. With the coming of the azure star and the eclipse of the two moons, those are the signs that the Prophets have mentioned," the high necromancer said with a low bow.

Azurich didn't really seem worried. In fact, he seemed more entertained. His eyes glowed blue for a while before the glow faded. Getting up from his throne of shadows, Azurich let out a breath of cold air. His black cloak billowed as a draft from the night's frosty cold air coming through the window blew at him. His enormous stature dwarfed the other dragons and they feared and respected him. The high necromancer took one step back.

"Val'thir, I have a task for you," Azurich said in a deep guttural voice.

"Anything milord, just say your will," Val'thir, the high necromancer, said respectfully and bowed even lower.

"I wish to pay my 'tribute' to this 'savior' of the living. Be my messenger and pass my word to the living creatures of Vetus Terra," Azurich said with an evil smile.

"In what way can we accomplish your will?" Val'thir asked as he straightened himself.

Azurich looked out at the two moons eclipsing before looking at Val'thir again.

"Kill every newly hatched dragon and destroy every egg in Warfang. Let me hear some screams and the cries from bloodletting"

* * *

At the city of Warfang, the Horde raided every home and mansion found. Many young ones were brutally killed and unhatched eggs were smashed before they can have a chance to be hatched. The dragons pleaded for mercy but unfortunately, mercy wasn't a familiar word to the Horde. Those that fought back were cut down equally and their souls were drained to create more pawns for the Horde. As for their bodies, they were resurrected to become eternal slaves for Azurich. As the killing in Warfang went on, a black dragoness cuddled a newly born egg while hiding herself in an alleyway. She couldn't bear to see her kin get slaughtered and she broke into tears. She looked at her egg and shook her head.

"It is not right for you to be born. I shouldn't have mated with your father in these dark times. However…you are still my child…and you deserve to live more than I do. By Mithrandir's name I hope you're spared," the black dragoness sobbed.

She waited for the streets to clear before coming out from her hiding spot. The young black dragoness tried to head for the main gate but she was spotted by the undead Horde.

"She's running away with an egg! Get her now!" a bone dragon yelled to his comrades.

The Horde went after her but she was faster than they were. Along the way, she met up with a red dragon named Firestorm. He ran alongside her.

"Lucy, follow me! I'll bring you to the gate through a shortcut!" the handsome red dragon called out.

The black dragoness obliged and followed him. Firestorm led her through alleyways and underground sewers but the Horde was relentless. Luckily for the two, they lost the Horde when they hid inside a warehouse and the undead ran past them.

"Lucy, where is Lothar?" Firestorm asked a panting Lucy.

"He's…dead. When the Horde searched our homes, he fought them but an arrow struck his heart. It's all because of this egg," Lucy said, her voice laced with sadness and anger.

Firestorm looked at the egg she was carrying before his eyes gazed at Lucy. He nodded and peered outside cautiously. There were only a few bone dragons stalking the streets, looking into every building for anyone who was trying to hide.

"We're not far from the gate now but by now, I reckon it has to be heavily guarded. Lucy, as a friend of your husband, let me help you for I do not wish that your child be killed without any reason. Listen carefully, Lucy. There is an underground stream that flows out of the city and towards Avalar. I doubt that Azurich's army knows about this so it should be safe. Let me distract the Horde long enough for you to head for the main sewer," Firestorm said.

They heard the door of a building next to them slam open as the Horde continued their search. The two heard screams and pleading voices.

"Why can't we escape from Warfang together? Surely our lives must be valued as well," Lucy said.

Firestorm shook his head and sighed sadly.

"I value not my life for my duty as guard captain is to protect Warfang and serve the people for the greater good. However, ever since Azurich made Warfang his protectorate, life is different for me now. I still serve but this time, I'm doing it for the living. I value my life but I do not like the idea of being one with the Horde if they take my soul," Firestorm said.

"So what are you implying?" Lucy asked, not understanding what Firestorm was trying to say.

"I'm torn between duty calls and preserving my life. I put duty above self but if I die and my soul is harvested for whatever evil reasons, I might as well run away than to have someone temper with my soul. I don't know what to do," Firestorm explained while rubbing his temple.

Lucy felt sorry for him and she placed her paw on his cheek. He looked at her with a surprised expression.

"Come, you are my friend as well and I do not wish to see a friend suffer physically and emotionally. We're leaving Warfang together," Lucy said softly.

For a moment, Firestorm was blushing and he quickly looked away. He was thankful that he was red and that helped him mask his blushing.

"Okay, whatever you say," Firestorm said.

When the bone dragons entered the warehouse, they were attacked by Firestorm. He burnt their bones into dust and reduced the others into a pile of charred bones. He and Lucy dashed out of the warehouse and quickly ran for the main sewer. They leapt into the sewer and continued running. The Horde was hot behind their tails but the two dragons were not giving up just yet. Firestorm turned his head around and took a deep breath. Then, he breathed out a large jet of flame that roiled in the sewer, burning every bone dragon in one straight line.

"That should distract them for a while," Firestorm muttered and went on his way.

He caught up with Lucy and the two went on their way. When they reached a dead end, Lucy panicked.

"Firestorm, this is a dead end!" she shouted.

"Wait, it's not," he said.

He touched the wall and chanted something incoherently. The wall he touched glowed bright white and Lucy heard an audible click. Then, the wall rumbled and the bricks sank into the wall. After all bricks have shifted, the wall parted like two doors and Lucy saw a cavern with the underground stream running through it.

"Only a select few know about this. Come, follow me," Firestorm beckoned.

They entered the cavern and the wall behind them closed. The two dragons followed the river downstream, presumably out of Warfang. Lucy was mesmerized by the river because it had a blue glow and the strangest thing of all that happened here is that plants grew in this underground cavern when there is no sunlight!

"Wow, what a view. It's like an underground forest in here!" Lucy said with awe.

"This forest is called Crepusculum Silva, or Twilight Forest. From what I heard from the Draconic Scholars, the forest is about 5000 years old. It used to be a haven for dragons and many other autonomous tribes like the cheetah and canine tribes. Unfortunately, when the first great evil ravaged Vetus Terra, the Dragon Elders hid the forest underground, never speaking about it again as to preserve its secret and mystical beauty. Many of the flora and fauna here are rare and some cannot be found above the ground," Firestorm explained while stretching out his paw and brushed against an exotic flower that looked like a dragon's head.

"Who is the mastermind of the first great evil?" Lucy asked while enjoying the view.

"You mean you don't know? The first great evil of this world was a demon god dragon named Lucifer. He plunged the world into total darkness and for two centuries, all inhabitants had to endure his reign of terror until a celestial dragon named Mithrandir slain him in an epic battle that was to determine the fate of Vetus Terra. We had peace until Azurich came along and funnily enough, he was the descendant of Lucifer," Firestorm said and smiled bitterly.

"So, I guess evil runs in the family," Lucy joked.

"I thought so too," Firestorm said.

They stopped to drink from the magic river and Lucy found that the water tasted like pure honey and it refreshed her.

"This water is so…sweet. It is as if this river is made from pure honey," Lucy said and drank some more.

"Be careful, Lucy, its addictive so don't drink too much," Firestorm warned.

"I'm done already. This water is really filling," Lucy said as she got up from her crouching position.

She filled a canteen of the water and kept it safely for future uses. Then, the two went on their way. Another hour of walking and they reached a wall. Again, Firestorm touched it and the wall slid open like the previous wall. What Lucy saw was a long and dark tunnel with dying torches stuck to the side of the tunnel wall. Firestorm grabbed a torch and reignited it.

"W-Where does this tunnel lead to?" Lucy asked.

"It leads to a canine village in the Summer Forest. I'm sure they'll be more than happy to help," Firestorm said.

He led Lucy through winding tunnels and the dragoness saw that Firestorm was rather confident in finding the way out. She wondered if he used to be an explorer or adventurer. After passing by a large silver vein, Lucy felt a draft in the cave.

"We're close to the exit. Follow me," said Firestorm.

Upon reaching the exit, they found themselves standing on a cliff overlooking the Summer Forest. At yonder, the two saw a large opening in the middle of the dense forest with smoke coming from the middle of the opening.

"The canine village is located in the opening. It shouldn't take us long to fly there," Firestorm said softly, the frosty breeze blowing past his body.

Lucy instinctively hugged her egg a little bit tighter as to give it some warmth. Firestorm saw that and he smiled at her.

"Here, let me keep your child warm for you," Firestorm said.

Lucy handed him the egg and Firestorm examined it.

"How very…peculiar. This egg is purple," Firestorm muttered.

"I-Is it bad?" Lucy asked with a shiver from the cold.

"No…it's not bad…but…it's just that…this has to be the savior," Firestorm said with a delighted smile.

"Eh…are you pulling my horns?" Lucy asked with an uncertain chuckle.

"The legend of the purple dragon…born every 10 generations and 5 years ago, this egg should have arrived…" Firestorm muttered.

Lucy waved her hand in front of her friends face, making him snap out of his thoughts.

"I-I'm sorry, my mind was racing with thoughts after seeing your egg. To answer your previous question, no, I'm not pulling your horns. It is as the prophecy has mentioned, the one that is born under the azure star while the two moons eclipse each other and is purple in color shall be the savior of the living world. Lucy, I have every reason to believe that your child is the savior," Firestorm said while looking at her black orbs.

"But…there can be other purple dragons…right?" she asked with uncertainty.

"No, only one purple dragon every 10 generations," said the red dragon.

He controlled his breath of fire as he did his best to keep the egg warm. Soft flames heated the egg to keep it from freezing over.

"Do you want it to be a male or female?" Firestorm asked as he stopped for a while.

"A…male," Lucy said.

"Male it is," Firestorm repeated and continued warming the egg, except the flames he produced were a little bit hotter.

Dragons are like crocodiles. They can determine the offspring's gender by controlling the incubation temperature. The higher the temperature, the more likely the offspring will be a male. For a female, all they need to do is to heat the egg over a soft fire.

"Um…maybe we should get going or we can stay in the caves for the night," Lucy said.

"No, no, it's okay. The heat should last long enough for us to reach the village. Let me keep it warm since you've held the egg for so long," Firestorm said.

Lucy said nothing but she nodded her head. With nothing else to say, the two took to the skies and glided towards the opening. It soon snowed and the snowflakes brushed against their faces as they flew through the light snowfall. Upon reaching the opening, the two dragons landed in the middle of the village with a loud thud. Firestorm swung his head around, trying to spot for any canines wandering around. When he saw nothing, it puzzled him immensely.

"That is really odd…where is everybody?" he asked.

The houses and the town hall were all there and intact and there were no signs of an attack but not a single soul was to be seen. The village was eerily dark and quiet.

"In in carnations are the canines?" Lucy asked Firestorm.

The red dragon merely shook his head. Suddenly, they heard rustling coming from the bushes that surrounded the village. He thought it was the canines but what came out from behind the bushes scared the daylights out of him.

"Hello you two," Azurich said darkly.

"Azurich!" Firestorm said aloud in fear, his eyes wide and his pupils dilated.

"That's Lord Azurich to you, fleshling. Respect your leader," Val'thir said while pointing his staff at the two dragons.

"Let's not be rude, Val'thir. We have to be nice to them," the large black dragon said with mocking kindness.

Firestorm dashed towards Azurich with the intention of scorching him but bone dragons and undead canine warrior surrounded Firestorm in a semicircle with swords and spears pointed at him. Instinctively, Firestorm took a few steps backwards.

"How dare you attempt to attack Lord Azurich?! Harvest his soul!" Val'thir shouted.

The soldiers took lout black scythes and attacked Firestorm. Lucy watched in fear and she slowly stepped away. Azurich didn't seem to care about what was going on but an evil smile appeared on his face. One scythe struck Firestorm in the chest and he grunted in pain. Then, as the scythe pulled out, his soul came out with it, stuck to the sharp tip of the scythe. His soulless body fell to the ground and Val'thir raised him as a bone dragon.

"Even the strongest of dragons cannot do anything when his soul is gone. Don't worry sweetheart, we will put him to good use," the high necromancer said menacingly.

Lucy wasn't sure whether to scream or cry. She just witnessed her friend get killed and even worse, turned into one of the undead. She dropped her egg and ran for her life but Azurich launch a black fireball at her. It hit her in the back and she disintegrated into a pile of bones.

"Do not resurrect this one, just let it be," Azurich told his high necromancer.

He walked towards the fallen egg and picked it up. He examined it and smiled.

"I can always use a son since I have no descendant," he said.

Azurich handed the egg to Val'thir and the latter accepted it carefully.

"Your new responsibility is to educate the young dragon when he hatches. I want to see him grow up to be a strong and mighty dragon. However, keep his powers in check lest he tries to force me to abdicate my throne of power. I want him strong but not too strong for my foresight is telling me of his rise to power," Azurich said.

Azurich has a rather accurate foresight that lets him see what was about to happen in the future. That was how he was able to predict where Firestorm and Lucy will appear.

"Are you sure that there is nothing else?" Val'thir asked.

Azurich turned around and growled at Val'thir. The necromancer shrunk back a bit.

"Do not question my ability, especially my foresight. Just do as I say and everything will be alright. Mithrandir may have defeated Lucifer 1000 years ago but my reign of terror will go unstopped. I will finish his ambition of ruling Vetus Terra and start a new ambition of conquering Novus Terra. The humans will never see this coming," Azurich said darkly and walked away, his black cloak billowing with the wind.

Val'thir looked at the egg and nodded.

"Aye milord, a good ambition," he said to himself.

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**A/N: Instead of a savior coming in glory and all that, I'm making Malefor an unlikely savior. You'll see what I mean.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Life among the Undead and Living**

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Malefor was twirling his pencil, uninterested in his mentor's lectures. He was more interested in what was on the tip of his pencil than how to harvest a soul.

"Master Malefor, please pay attention," Val'thir said sternly.

"Look, I'm bored and harvesting souls is not my interest. I want to go out into the open and play with my fellow friends," Malefor said.

"Your father won't be pleased if he heard that coming from you," Val'thir said.

"Hear him say what?" Azurich asked as he entered the lecture theater.

"Milord, I didn't expect you to return so soon from Avalar," Val'thir said as he bowed down.

"I have decided to take the day off to spend some time with my son. I heard you wanted to go out and play, yes?" Azurich asked.

"You bet I do, dad. I saw my friends having fun when they play at the playground. I've been locked in this tower for too long," Malefor said happily.

Azurich smiled weakly and nodded his head.

"Very well Malefor, you may go out and play but you must study when you return home," Azurich said to the ten year-old dark purple dragon.

"Thanks dad, you're the greatest," Malefor said as he hugged Azurich.

Turning around, he stuck out his tongue at Val'thir before running off to the nearest playground.

"That young lad is sure a strong-headed lizard," Val'thir muttered as he shook his head.

"You must go easy on young dragons. Keep them happy enough so they won't think about disrespecting you. Do not forget, he must not be too strong. Keep him happy and naïve," Azurich said.

* * *

At a playground outside of Warfang, a group of dragons were playing with a ball made of rattan. Around them were other young dragons, all of them playing different games. Malefor landed at the edge of the playground and smiled.

"Wow, look at how happy they are. I want to play too!" he said happily.

However, no matter where he went, the other dragons stepped away from him. Malefor was naïve and he didn't understand why they did so. Feeling unhappy, he headed under the shade of a tree and sat there, sulking. Suddenly, a rattan ball landed next to him.

"Hey you, can you throw that ball over here?" a light blue dragon called out.

Malefor looked at the ball and picked it up. He threw it back to the light blue dragon and he waved his paw in thanks. Malefor waved back shyly.

"Sigh, no one will play with me," he muttered sadly.

Then, the rattan ball rolled back in front of him and that surprised him. He looked up and saw four dragons of different colors walking towards him.

"You look rather lonely. Care to play soccer?" the green one asked.

"Terrador, are you sure it's a good idea to let him play with us? He's the Overlord's son," the red one whispered to the green one named Terrador.

"He looks rather harmless to me," the blue one said with a tone of arrogance in his voice and he let out an icy breath.

Malefor scowled at the blue dragon but he seemed unfazed.

"I pity him for being lonely and he deserves to have a comrade to play with. We should let him in our group," the yellow one said quickly.

"I still don't trust him. For all you know, he'll bite us when we're not looking," the red dragon said warily.

"Let's not jump to conclusions, Ignitus, he looks lonely and we should help him," the yellow dragon said.

The yellow dragon stretched out his paw at Malefor, intending to get a handshake from Malefor. The dark purple dragon slowly reached out and shook it.

"Hi there, my name is Volteer and these three are my friends. The green is Terrador, the red one is Ignitus and the arrogant blue one is Cyril," Volteer said so quickly that Malefor barely manage to catch what he just said.

"Hey," said an annoyed Cyril.

"My name is Malefor. Nice to meet you all," Malefor said.

"Is that your name? By the gods, that name is unique," Volteer said.

"What do you mean?" Malefor asked with a slight scowl on his face.

"It means 'he who delivers'. Wow, that is some name you've got there," Volteer whistled.

"This dragon isn't a savior. Look at him, he's a shy weakling," Cyril said.

"That wasn't nice of you, Cyril," Terrador snapped.

They looked at Malefor and Terrador smiled at him.

"Come with us; let's go play some games before the Horde comes. We have at least five more hours of playtime together," Terrador said.

"That'll be great," Malefor said, looking more animated.

At the middle of the playground, Terrador handed Malefor the rattan ball.

"Do you know how to play Super Ball?" Terrador asked.

Malefor didn't even know what Super Ball was and he cocked his head inquisitively.

"What's Super Ball?" the black dragon asked.

"You mean you don't know? Super Ball is a ball game that many young dragons like to play. The rules of this game are simple so I'm sure you can pick it up quickly," Terrador said blithely.

"Do tell," Malefor nodded.

"The objective of Super Ball is to score as many points as you can. All you need to do is to keep the ball in the air for as long as you can give while doing amazing stunts with the ball. No flying allowed though," Terrador explained.

"What kind of stunts do you mean?" asked Malefor.

Cyril smiled arrogantly and took the ball from Malefor, earning the light blue dragon scowls from the other dragons.

"Watch and learn, newbie," he said.

Cyril tossed the ball into the air and he leapt up into the air. Cyril grabbed the ball and tossed it towards a nearby tree and the ball bounced back at him. He kicked the ball even higher and juggled it with his hind legs. Then he bounced the ball on his head like an expert soccer player before letting it fall down to the ground and Cyril landed beside it with a soft thud on the grassy field.

"That was approximately 15 seconds of air time and judging by his moves, I say Cyril got 25 points out of 30 for juggling, fast reflex and skill in total. Not bad for an amateur," Ignitus said smilingly.

"I could have done better if there weren't any drafts," Cyril muttered.

"Nah, you're only giving an excuse," Terrador said while waving a paw at him dismissively.

Cyril handed the rattan ball to Malefor.

"Why don't you give it a try, new friend? I'm sure you have some skills in you. For the most silent, they are also the most skillful ones," Volteer said.

"Well…okay, I'll give it a shot," Malefor said.

He took a deep breath and threw the ball into the air as high as he could. To the other dragon's surprise, the ball shot up so fast they didn't even catch what was going on. Malefor then leapt up after the ball. The kick on the ground was so powerful that the ground crack just as he pushed himself up into the air and after the ball. He bounced the ball with his head for 20 times before letting the ball fall. When the ball was falling, Malefor flew after it and did loops around the ball. The ball landed on the ground first and after a few seconds, Malefor landed gracefully beside it. His companions were wide-eyed and their jaws dropped.

"That was the most amazing thing I've ever seen," Volteer said.

"It's stupendous," Terrador muttered.

"Absolutely unique according to speed and gracefulness. If I were to give a score to an amateur, this will be 30," Ignitus said.

"Hey, that's a little too high," Cyril complained.

"I pitied him just like how I pitied you but he has power, speed and gracefulness in him. Don't go sulking just because he has a higher score than you," Ignitus said.

"But he flew and that was against the rule," Cyril complained.

"He didn't fly, you idiot. Malefor only glided when he did the loops and nothing in the rule book said that gliding was illegal," Ignitus explained.

Suddenly, everyone felt a rush of cold air. Ignitus noticed that the other dragons were running away. Moments later, in front of them stood the Horde high necromancer Val'thir.

"Young master, your father seeks your presence back at the castle," Val'thir said frostily.

"But I've only been here for an hour!" Malefor said indignantly.

"Back to the castle, young master. Your father says so and he will have his way," Val'thir ordered.

Malefor grumbled angrily and turned to face his friends.

"Listen, I'll come back and play with you guys tomorrow. Is that okay with all of you?" He asked hopefully.

"Join us anytime you like, Malefor, we're always welcoming new faces," Volteer smiled.

Malefor smiled and followed Val'thir back to the castle located on top of a mountain peak. Malefor didn't really like the design of the castle. It looked to gloomy, too dangerous…too evil. The castle didn't look like home but at least his father cared for him and the internal environment didn't bother him much.

"Young master, shall we resume our lessons for today?" Val'thir asked.

"What, more soul harvesting and learning how to breath the Death Flame like how dad does? I'm not really interested," Malefor muttered.

"I have been given orders so you are to obey it whether you like it or not," Val'thir snapped.

"Screw the orders. I'm talking to dad," Malefor said.

Val'thir wanted to stop Malefor but he pushed past some heavy doors and it slammed right in front of Val'thir's face.

"He's a hard one to educate," Val'thir muttered while shaking his head.

Malefor walked into a room and the guards stood straight in respect. At the other end of the room, Azurich was seated at his throne, sleeping soundly. He was so motionless that one may mistake him for a statue given his color and state of motion.

"Dad," Malefor called out.

Azurich didn't stir but after a few seconds, he opened his eyes and it glowed blue. His eyes searched around before finally setting his sights on his son. He moved and got up from his throne with some loud crunching noises, as if his bones were breaking.

"What is it, Malefor?" Azurich asked in a booming voice.

"Why did you call me back so quickly?" Malefor asked.

Azurich stared at his diminutive son for a while before smiling.

"I have reasons for that but you should go study. Study for at least 3 hours and perhaps I'll bring you out for dinner tonight at Warfang. How about that? You shouldn't really slack off on your studies," Azurich said.

"But I hate studying," Malefor said.

Azurich kneeled down so his face was at the same level as Malefor's.

"Malefor, becoming like me isn't as easy as it seems. You must do a lot of practice before you can achieve greater power. I know you look up to me so why not do something about it?" Azurich asked while patting his son's head.

Malefor looked down on the grimy stone floor and sighed.

"Do I really have to?" Malefor asked softly.

"If you don't want to, no one's stopping you. However, you'll be weak and you'll let people push you around. Isn't there a young dragon named Cyril? An arrogant one isn't he?" Azurich said.

Malefor widened his eyes in surprise.

"How'd you know?" he asked while looking up at his father's face.

"I have the ability of foresight, don't you remember? If you're stronger, I don't think Cyril will push you around like what happened today. Tell me, do you like him?" Azurich asked in an attempt to manipulate Malefor.

"Well…I…I don't really know," Malefor stammered.

"I can tell that you don't like him. Look at him, he's an arrogant dragon and he doesn't look all nice. Don't tell me you want to be friends with a dragon like him," Azurich said.

Malefor thought for a while and shook his head.

"No, I don't want to," Malefor muttered.

"He thinks that you're stronger than you. Do you want him to push you around like that?" Azurich asked some more.

"No, I want to beat him in strength," Malefor said angrily.

"If you do, allow Val'thir to educate you for you'll need it," the overlord said while gesturing at Val'thir who was standing behind Malefor.

Malefor didn't really want to complain so he obliged reluctantly. After the sun had set, Azurich kept his promise and brought Malefor out for dinner. Everywhere they went, all creatures avoided them.

"Dad, why are they avoiding us?" Malefor asked.

"It's out of respect," Azurich said lamely.

They went to a food court where a lot of dragons were having their dinner. They quickly moved aside as Azurich approached. They sat near a balcony while the other dragons cleared off.

"Go see what you like. Here's some money for you," Azurich said.

Malefor accepted it and quickly headed for the stall that sold grilled venison, his favorite food. He ran so quickly that he bumped into another dragoness in front of him.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" the dragoness said angrily.

"Watch who you're talking to," Malefor shot back while helping himself up.

The dragoness turned to stare at him and she got a shock. Malefor also got a shock but not because of whatever reasons, it was because of her beauty. His face blushed and he felt blood rushing to his head.

"Ah, I'm sorry, young prince, I didn't know it was you!" she said hastily.

"I-It's okay…a-actually," Malefor stammered.

"Please forgive me for my hastiness. Don't throw me to the guards," she said, feeling afraid.

"N-No, I have no intention of doing so," Malefor said, his face growing redder.

They stared at each other for a while and the dragoness also started to blush.

"I-I'm sorry for disturbing you, milord. I-I'll be o-on my way," she said and quickly went away.

Malefor was awestruck by her cuteness and beauty. That icy white dragon…what was her name? She's so cute...and beautiful as well. Malefor felt like that he wanted to know her but his growling stomach distracted him.

"Well, maybe next time," he said to himself with a shrug.

* * *

**A/N: Ah, Malefor is still naïve and innocent but that won't last long. Anyway, in light of the ongoing flame war, I plead to both sides to stop bickering and stop making the place a warzone. This is a fanfiction site, not a battlefield. Both sides have faults so deal with it, nobody's perfect. I direct this message to both Scarlett-Husky and morbosity666. As for me, do not drag me into this for I remain strictly neutral. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Kaoru**

* * *

After some time, Malefor came back with a plate of venison and a cup of water.

"Is that all you're getting?" Azurich asked.

"Yes dad," Malefor said and ate his food hungrily.

Azurich noticed a white dragoness looking at Malefor but when she noticed Azurich looking at her, she quickly turned around and ran away.

"Hmm, interesting young lass she is," Azurich said.

"What do you mean?" Malefor asked.

"I noticed that a white dragoness has been eyeing you. Is she your friend?" the overlord asked as his eyes glowed blue.

"I don't know her," Malefor muttered.

Azurich let out a small puff of fire and nodded.

"But she seems interested in you. Perhaps you would like to explain that," the black dragon said with a voice laced with interest.

"I…don't know what you mean," Malefor said.

"Come now Malefor, you know perfectly well what I mean. I saw you talking to that she-dragon and I noticed that you were blushing," Azurich said seriously.

Malefor said not a word but continued eating his food. Azurich nodded his head and smiled.

"If you wish to meet her, go ahead but do not stay too long. In the meantime, perhaps I'll get myself something to consume," Azurich said softly and went away.

Malefor looked up a bit and noticed his father going somewhere with some of his guards. Malefor stopped eating and turned to the bone guards next to him.

"Make sure nobody sits here," Malefor instructed.

"Yes, young prince," they said obligingly.

Malefor looked around for the white dragoness but the crowd was blocking his view. Finally after some frantic searching, the purple dragon found the white dragoness sitting on a bench next to a window. Malefor braved himself and walked up to the dragoness.

"Uh…high there…uh…my name is Malefor…" Malefor started but he found himself stammering too much.

The white dragoness seemed startled and she looked up quickly. When she saw Malefor, she moved away fearfully.

"Stay away from me! You're going to get me killed!" she said loudly and moved away from Malefor.

"If you're talking about that little accident we had just now, it's no big a deal at all. I just want to know you," Malefor explained hastily.

"I don't think your father will welcome whelps like me. Besides, I don't even think I'm worth it," the dragoness said, her voice softening.

"But he didn't have any problem with that. Besides, he told me that you were noticing me," Malefor said.

The dragoness blushed so suddenly that Malefor saw it all before she decided to hide her face.

"Maybe it'll be better if you just told me your name," Malefor said, breaking the silence.

The dragoness looked at Malefor and for the first time, he noticed her snow white eyes which he found to be very attractive and beautiful.

"My name is Kaoru of House Castillo," she said.

"House Castillo…that's a rather powerful family and my father never liked anyone from House Castillo since they always threaten to slay him!" Malefor said with surprise.

"That is why I said I won't be welcomed by your father. The moment he sees me, he might kill me," Kaoru said fearfully.

"No, I won't let him," Malefor said while holding her paws, causing her to gasp with surprise and her face turned even red.

"Well…you can try but I doubt he'll listen. The Overlord of Shadows does not like it when people disobey him," Kaoru whispered.

"Nah, my father listens to me. Anyway, it's nice to meet you," Malefor said with a small smile.

"Likewise, Malefor," Kaoru nodded her head.

Malefor let go of her paws and she went away without looking back at Malefor. The purple dragon can't help but smile.

"She likes me," Malefor said to himself.

* * *

After finishing up his dinner, Malefor an Azurich went back to the castle. That night, he dreamt about Kaoru and that got the necromancer worried.

"Milord, if he maintains a relationship with a living, the influence you have on him will dissipate and you will have no heir. To make things worse, she's the firstborn of House Castillo," Val'thir growled.

"House Castillo is nothing but a family of fools and knaves. There is no threat from them even if they are powerful," Azurich said darkly.

"But milord, it was Elder Nagisa that killed General Belmont and no living creature alive can kill him. There is something about House Castillo I don't like," Val'thir hissed.

"I'm neither living nor dead. I'm…somewhere in between. Weapons do not harm me and magic weapons don't work on me. Like I said, my faithful Val'thir, I'm invincible," Azurich said.

"Very well milord, if you say so," Val'thir said and headed for the chamber's door.

"One more thing, Val'thir," Azurich called out.

"Yes milord?" the necromancer asked while turning around.

"Make sure Malefor stay away from that Kaoru dragoness. Innocence still lingers in his mind and if we're not careful, he'll find out the truth and he may turn on us," Azurich said.

Val'thir nodded his head.

"I will do so milord. Rest easy," he said while clicking his teeth together.

The next day, Malefor went out to play after doing his studies but was accompanied by Val'thir. Malefor didn't really mind Val'thir coming along but he certainly did not like his constant ranting about Kaoru.

"Look, what is wrong if I like her? She doesn't look dangerous to me," said an irate Malefor.

"But young master, House Castillo has been nothing but a pain to your family as well as your father. Don't you know what happen to General Belmont?" Val'thir asked.

"That oversized demon dragon that dad trust? Yeah, I know he's dead," Malefor said lamely.

"Someone from House Castillo killed him. Surely they'll try to kill you if you get close to them, especially their precious daughter," Val'thir hissed maliciously.

"I don't give a good nickel about that. I haven't killed anyone so why have I to fear?" Malefor said and ran past Val'thir.

"That kid sure has a hard head and a stubborn soul. I wonder why Lord Azurich picked him as his son in the first place," Val'thir said to himself.

The purple dragon met up with his new friends once more but they weren't playing Super Ball today. Instead, all four of them held strips of paper that has a yellow tinge.

"No Super Ball today?" Malefor asked curiously.

"We play a different thing every day. Today, we're playing target practice," Terrador said.

"Let me guess, you intend to shoot those bottles with paper strips?" Malefor asked with an odd expression.

"These are no ordinary paper strips. These are exploding papers and their explosion is strong enough to knock the bottles of the wall. It's not lethal but it hurts if it explodes near you," Volteer said while rolling a paper strip into a small ball.

He threw one at Cyril and it exploded at his leg.

"Ow, why did you that for?!" Cyril asked angrily while rubbing his leg.

"That was for badmouthing my sister," Volteer said with a sardonic grin.

"Shall I explain the rules of the game?" Ignitus asked.

"Do tell," Malefor said happily.

"Your objective is to knock the bottles off the wall. The more you knock off, the higher your score. We have colored bottles so we can have different scores. Green bottles have a score of 5, blue bottles have a score of 10 and gold bottles have a score of 50. Keep your own score because this is every dragon for himself," Ignitus said.

"But I don't have any exploding paper," said the purple dragon.

"You can have some of mine," Volteer said.

Malefor thanked Volteer and accepted 15 strips of paper strips.

"Okay, on my mark. Mark!" Terrador shouted.

Malefor thought this was going to be an easy game but to his surprise, the bottles popped up and down as there were other dragons hiding behind the wall to help make the game more fun by moving the bottles.

"There is one thing I like and that is a challenge. This will be fun!" Malefor thought.

Malefor took aim at a green bottle and flicked a paper ball at it but then, it was taken down and the paper ball flew pass it.

"Oh yeah, we'll see about that," Malefor said.

Paper balls flew by the dozens and many found their mark. So far, not one of the dragons hit any gold bottles but Malefor's last shot hit one. He waited for the others to finish before finalizing the results.

"75," Cyril said.

"80," Terrador said.

"70," Volteer said.

"65," Ignitus said.

"80," Malefor said.

"You and I got a tie," Terrador said with a smile.

"It's the best I can get anyway," Malefor said modestly.

"You're more than meets the eye you know. I never knew you were such a good shooter," Volteer said.

"Thanks Volteer," Malefor said.

Then, they heard a clap coming from behind them. They turned around and saw Val'thir coming towards them while clapping his hand.

"Very well done, young master. It seems like your archery training did not go to waste," the bone dragon said with an icy breath coming out from his maw.

"His breath can freeze water," Volteer whispered to Malefor.

"I can do that as it is one of my abilities, yellow dragonling. Young master, I hope you have fun but we must go now," Val'thir said.

"One more hour please," Malefor pleaded.

"To the castle now," Val'thir ordered.

His eyes noticed a white dragoness looking around, presumably looking for Malefor. Val'thir didn't allow it.

"Fine, I'm going. See you again tomorrow," Malefor said his friends.

But Malefor had other plans in mind. The sly purple dragon ran away when Val'thir wasn't looking. He hid behind a bush and headed for the playground again. He didn't see where he was going and bumped into Kaoru.

"Hey, watch it!" she said loudly while rubbing her head.

She looked up and saw Malefor.

"Oh no, I'm so sorry, my mouth always speak before my brain can think of what to say. Are you okay?" she asked.

"It's my fault, Kaoru. Sorry for not looking," Malefor said while rubbing his forehead.

She helped him onto his feet again.

"What are you doing out here? I thought your father never let you out of the castle," Kaoru said.

"Well, he decided to let me play in the sun everyday but he had Val'thir limit my time of fun. I ditched him so I can come back to play again," Malefor said with a grin.

"You certainly are a troublemaker eh," Kaoru giggled.

"More or less," Malefor said proudly.

The white dragoness suddenly thought about something and she grabbed Malefor's paw, trying to lead him to somewhere.

"Whoa, where are you bringing me?" Malefor asked hastily.

"It's a place I fell in love with ever since I found it. No other dragon in this playground knows about the existence of this place," she said.

"It must mean a lot to you huh," Malefor said.

"I found it since I was a little younger. No place on Vetus Terra can match its beauty," said an annoyed Kaoru.

She led Malefor into a forest where thickets cover the side of a hill not far from the entrance of the forest. It didn't seem to be special.

"You brought me all the way here just so I can see a hill?" Malefor asked while giving Kaoru an odd expression.

"It's not the hill I'm asking you to look at, silly. The thing that hides behind the thicket is the one that counts and no, it's not a monster," Kaoru said.

"I never said there was a monster," Malefor said although he did try to say it.

She looked behind the thickets and turned to look at Malefor, flashing him a beautiful smile which made the purple dragon blush.

"Close your eyes and I'll lead you to a magical place where beauty is just an understatement. Don't want to spoil the surprise you know," Kaoru said.

"Well…if you insist," Malefor said and closed his eyes.

"Kaoru took him by the paw and pushed aside the thicket. Malefor heard the sound of rushing water and echoes after some time. The purple dragon had no clue on what was in store for him until Kaoru stopped.

"Okay, you can open your eyes now," she said kindly.

Malefor opened and the sight before him made him smile from ear-to-ear.

"This is indeed beautiful," he said.

* * *

**A/N: What is it that Malefor saw? Can anyone of you guess it correctly?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Malefor's Past**

* * *

"Welcome to the Garden of Ancients, Malefor," Kaoru said.

Malefor could tell that they were inside a cave but this is no ordinary cave. It was brightly lit by light-emitting plants and the sound of rushing water came from a large waterfall towering over 300 meters. The trees that grow in the cave were large and strong; many of them possessing thick trunks and little orbs of light flew around them. The air in here was fresh and cooling, giving Malefor an energy boost. Animals lived in here as well and many of them were friendly. The river flow was slow enough so that groups of playful otters swam in it while playing with each other. It was Paradise on Earth.

"Kaoru, this is no beautiful place; this is paradise," Malefor said.

"I wonder if there is a world out there that has such a place. The Garden of Ancients is about a few millennia old and many creatures found their way into this place to live. I bet the Elders sealed this place away so they can protect it from Lucifer's reign of terror. Did you know that the water in this river is magic?" Kaoru asked.

"No, I can't say I know anything about this," Malefor said truthfully.

"The water can recover even the most serious of wounds and restore lost energy. Another special thing about the river is that it is also called the River of Memories. Anyone who has taken a dip in this river can recall their past if they take a dip in it again later in their life. It stores your memory," Kaoru said.

Malefor let out a low whistle and nodded his head.

"This is most interesting," Malefor said.

"Let us make it more interesting by dipping in it together. Maybe we can make a nice memory of our friendship," Kaoru smiled.

"Um…that…won't really be necessary," Malefor said with a deep blush on his face.

"C'mon, it'll be fun," Kaoru smiled.

"I'm the son of the Overlord of Shadows. You…don't really want any memories of being with an evil dragon," Malefor muttered.

"You may come from a family of evil but it doesn't make an individual evil. It's the individual personality that counts, not family background," Kaoru said softly.

"Well…I…okay," Malefor said.

She held his paw and the two leapt into the river together. Suddenly, memories flooded through Malefor's mind while he was in the water. It confused him so much so that he stayed in the water for too long. He didn't hear Kaoru scream his name. He was so captivated by the phenomenon that Kaoru had to pull him out of the water. He surfaced the water, gasping for air.

"You idiot! Why did you stay in the water for so long? A dip is already enough," Kaoru said angrily.

"I'm sorry but memories just flooded into my mind. It was as if I have been into the river before," Malefor said.

"This is impossible...unless your parents have brought you to a secret place before where the river runs through," Kaoru mumbled.

"I'm a bit confused myself and I don't know what's going on," Malefor said.

"What did you see?" Kaoru whispered.

"I saw a black dragoness drinking the water from the river while clutching an egg. Beside her was a red dragon. That's all I can see," Malefor said.

Kaoru stared thoughtfully at Malefor and at the river before looking at him again.

"That is…interesting. Even if you're not directly in contact with the water, any family member of yours who came in contact can also have their memories played back in the minds of other family members," Kaoru said thoughtfully.

"So what are you implying?"

"I'm not sure what's going on but there is something interesting unveiling here."

Malefor's curiosity was piqued and he made up his mind to ask his father about this. The young dragon didn't know what was going on so he hoped that his father may know a thing or two about his mother.

"I think I better go now or my father will kill me," Malefor said while going to the entrance to see the brightness of the sky.

"Me too. Maybe we can meet again tomorrow," Kaoru said.

"Yeah, we should," Malefor said with a weak smile.

* * *

Malefor found his way back to the castle but he was greeted by an angry Val'thir and his father, who somehow looked scary when he was displeased.

"Come inside and explain yourself," Azurich said darkly.

At the throne chamber, Malefor was scolded by Val'thir while Azurich remained silent but his eyes were glowing red.

"Your father was worried about you and you dare disobey him by running away on your own?! What kind of a son are you?!" Val'thir ranted.

Azurich shook his head and did a throat slitting motion. Val'thir fell silent.

"Malefor, do you mind telling me where you have been to?" Azurich asked.

"It's a secret," Malefor answered.

Azurich looked at Malefor for a few seconds and nodded his head casually.

"It's a secret huh. Well, I guess it must mean a lot to you and your…girlfriend," Azurich said so suddenly that it caught Malefor off guard.

"I…don't know what you mean," Malefor said hastily.

"Don't think you can hide things from me, Malefor, you've been with that Kaoru dragoness. I saw it in my vision but somehow…I can't see where you two went. It is as if some kind of inhibitor is inhibiting my ability to see beyond that," Azurich said, his voice laced with interest.

He lowered his head so he can see Malefor face-to-face without looking down at him.

"Do you have anything to say about this?" he asked.

Malefor shook his head.

"I thought so," Azurich muttered and stood up straight.

The large dragon sat on his throne and took off his cloak.

"There is something going on here and I want you to find out. Do not fail me," Azurich said to Val'thir.

"As you wish, milord," Val'thir said and nodded his head.

Turning to Malefor, Azurich pointed a gnarled claw at him menacingly.

"As for you, Malefor, you are banned from going out to play for the next three weeks. I gave you freedom and this is how you repay my kindness? Think about what you have done," Azurich said sternly.

Malefor sulked and went to his room. Once in, he slammed the door shut and quickly browsed through the bookshelves of his personal library. He was intent on searching for information on this so-called Garden of Ancients and its history. As he searched through the thousands of books there, the candle flickered as cold wind blew into this room through an open window.

"Damn, why are there no books on the garden?" Malefor said angrily.

He nearly gave up after half an hour of fruitless searching when he accidentally knocked over a small shelf. Books were strewn everywhere, including an ancient manuscript and scrolls.

"Hello, what have we here?" Malefor asked and picked up the manuscript.

He unbound the manuscript and rolled it open. Malefor saw many vivid images of dragons and other creatures doing something. The words written in it were ancient Draconic and that was one language he didn't understand.

"I don't understand," Malefor muttered.

"Sure you don't," a voice said.

Malefor quickly spun around and noticed a filmy white dragon floating near the door. It looked kindly and his smile seemed assuring.

"Are you…a ghost?" Malefor asked courageously.

"I wouldn't call myself a ghost. I prefer to call myself a wandering spirit," the spirit said.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Malefor asked.

"It takes a lot of courage to ask such a question, young one. Like I said, I'm a spirit and my name is Rulfice and I'm here to tell you about the truth," the spirit said.

"Rulfice? That's a funny name for a dragon. What truth is there to tell?" Malefor asked in a challenging way.

"It's about your past. Would you like to know about it?" Rulfice asked while floating towards Malefor.

"No thanks, I'm born in this family so I don't need to know anything," Malefor said.

"What about the time before you even hatched out from that little egg of yours? Many things can happen during that time you know," Rulfice said.

"I don't need to know for it is not of my concern. There is no truth okay?" Malefor said irritably.

"Don't you want to know about your mother?" Rulfice asked.

Malefor stopped what he was doing and looked at Rulfice.

"You know something about my mother?" Malefor asked excitedly.

"But of course my dear child. However, I don't think you want to hear me talk about it anyway so I'll be leaving," the spirit said and turned towards the door.

"Wait, I want to know more," Malefor said.

The spirit stopped in his tracks, turned his head around and smiled at Malefor.

"In that case, let me bring you back to a time before you were born, a time when your mother and father met," Rulfice said.

Rulfice snapped his fingers and the world around Malefor darkened. He felt suffocated and he gasped for air as the darkness around him tightened like a vicious grip. Just before he thought he would die, the darkness surrounding him disappeared in a flash of light and Malefor gasped for air. He smelt sea water and the sound of waves hitting against a cliff was heard.

"Welcome to Seaside Villa, a nice little village far away from civilization," Rulfice said.

"What does this have to do with my mother?" Malefor asked while dusting himself.

"You should know about your mother before you must know anything that was and is to come. Follow me," Rulfice said.

"But won't they see us?"

"No, I don't think so."

Malefor followed Rulfice into the village, passing by villagers who were oblivious to their presence. Malefor noticed that they were happy unlike the citizens of Warfang he met every day. They were hardworking and the dragons were friendly.

"They all look so happy," Malefor said while looking around.

"These are happy times before Azurich came to full power. If you would follow me to a house near the cliff, you can see your parents and the place they live in before they moved to Warfang," Rulfice said while beckoning to Malefor.

There was a wooden house at the edge of the cliff but it was nicely built. There was a male dragon working outside of the house, chopping firewood and storing them in the shed.

"That should do," the dragon said with satisfaction in his voice.

"Lothar, time to come in for dinner! Firestorm has just arrived!" a dragoness called out from inside the house.

"Coming honey!" the crimson dragon said.

He opened the door and entered his house, not knowing that two unseen dragons were following him. The warmth of the house gave Malefor a welcoming feel and the friendly atmosphere made him smile unconsciously.

"Something smells good. You're cooking roasted chicken with herbs I presume?" Lothar asked.

"It's my mother's specialty. You'll love it once you've tried it," the black dragoness said.

Lothar turned his head around and saw a red dragon sitting at the table.

"Long time no see, Firestorm. How's life for you at Warfang?" Lothar asked while giving the dragon a welcoming hug and pat.

"Very hectic, my good friend. I was able to get a day off so I thought I'd join you guys for old time's sake," Firestorm said.

"That's nice of you. Lucy just mentioned about you today and coincidentally, you showed up," Lothar laughed.

"It must be a damn good coincidence. Anyway, how is your life?" Firestorm asked.

"As daily as it can get. Being a carpenter isn't as easy as everyone thinks but I do a fairly decent job considering the rumors of the spreading darkness," Lothar said, his voice turning serious.

"Yes, I heard about the rumors of a certain Azurich as well. They say he's just as powerful as Lucifer," Firestorm said darkly.

"That's not a good thing," Lothar said.

"No, it's far worse than being bad. Rumor has it that the Serpent Forest has been corrupted and now, Azurich's spies are being recruited in the form of birds and beasts. He sees everything now," Firestorm whispered.

"What does he want from a small village? It's not like we have rebels in here," said Lothar.

"That is true but he's not after rebels. Azurich is after souls and anyone will do," Firestorm said.

"If he's corrupted the Serpent Forest, how can I get my supplies? The Summer Forest is miles away and I can't afford to go that far," Lothar growled.

"Maybe you should move to Warfang. No doubt he'll strike Seaside Villa when he has the chance. I know this because my guards risked their lives to give me this intel. Azurich grows stronger and sooner or later, Vetus Terra will fall into darkness. It's nothing we can do but wait until the savior is born," Firestorm said and drank some coffee.

A flash appeared before Malefor's eyes and when he opened it again, Malefor found himself back in his own room.

"I recognize that black dragoness and that red dragon but who is that crimson dragon and why is everyone saying that my father is evil?" Malefor asked.

"I will not tell you the answers because you will soon find out for yourself. The clues have been given and the truth will soon be revealed. Only then will the memory you see at the Garden of Ancients make sense. Once you have found out about the truth, call for me and I will tell you what to do next," Rulfice said and disappeared into thin air.

Malefor stood there and looked at the spot where Rulfice disappeared.

"Find out the truth? But how?" Malefor asked himself.

He looked at the ancient manuscripts and sighed.

"I guess I need to read some history. Maybe it can give me a clue. Not only that, I may want to ask around. Some should know what's going on since it only happened fifteen years ago," Malefor said.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: An Agenda Well-hidden**

* * *

Malefor didn't go out as long as he was grounded but he kept himself occupied by reading the history of his father's rise to power as well as translating the manuscripts using a dictionary of ancient Draconic words he found in a hidden part of the library.

"This is interesting. I never knew such words could have multiple meanings. Let's see now…" Malefor traced his claw over the words and deciphered it using the dictionary.

He wrote the meanings on another piece of paper for easy reference. To the surprise of his mentor, he could actually make full translations with meanings close to the actual ones.

"I'm surprised, Malefor. Who knew that you can actually do such translations so well despite being a young dragon," Val'thir said.

"It was nothing," Malefor said.

Val'thir inspected his works and nodded his head, impressed with Malefor's handiwork.

"Why are you doing this anyway? What's the sudden interest?" Val'thir asked.

"It's a secret," Malefor winked.

"Nobody hides a secret from me. Tell me what it is, boy," Val'thir said.

Malefor shook his head defiantly.

"I have my right to keep my secret and this is one secret I will keep. However, I will tell you that I am interested in translating that manuscript. There is something about it that I want to know," Malefor said while pointing at the dusty manuscript.

Val'thir looked at it and nodded.

"I see…and you're not going to tell me?" Val'thir asked.

"Nope," was Malefor's reply.

Val'thir nodded again and headed for the room door.

"Do not try to escape or your father will give you a punishment worse than being grounded. You may do whatever you like here but no going outside." Val'thir warned and went out from the room.

Malefor continued doing his research until it was midnight. By then, he already translated half of the manuscript.

"Not bad for starter. I never knew I had it in me," Malefor said smilingly.

He took the translated writings and read it, trying to understand what was being translated.

"Hmm…ancient dragons fear an unknown beast that many think came from the realm of Convexity. Lucifer once used it and nearly destroyed the world. It was prophesized that the next one to resurrect the beast will be the one who has lost his loved ones, who has a broken heart and most importantly, one that is living with a family of evil. It can be anyone ranging from the most famous to the least known of dragons and only dragons will have the ability to resurrect the beast known as the Destroyer. Fires will burn and the world will splinter into many as the Destroyer finishes its trip around Vetus Terra. Only one can stop it…but that one dragon may also be the one to resurrect it…that doesn't make sense. It's rather contradictory," Malefor muttered.

He checked the dictionary again and again but that was the closest meaning he can get. It baffled him but he set it aside. Maybe the other half of the manuscript may offer a clue. After eating his dinner and keeping mum about the "assignment" he was doing from his father, Malefor went to his room to read some books before going to sleep. During his deep sleep, Malefor dreamt about the memory he saw when he emerged from the ancient river. This time, it revealed more. He saw the black dragoness named Lucy being burnt to death by a powerful dark flame but Malefor couldn't see who fired that fatal fireball.

"No," Malefor muttered.

He then found himself surrounded by darkness with many hands trying to grab him and rip him to pieces. Malefor struggled but for the first time, he felt weak and there was no way he could fight back. Just as he thought he was going to die from all the tugging and pulling, the scene warped and Malefor was standing on top of a high mountain that overlooked the world. It was on fire and the Destroyer was wading through the swamps before making its way to Warfang.

"W-what is this?" Malefor asked himself.

"This is something that may happen in the near future," someone said.

Malefor turned his head around and saw a dark purple dragon standing behind him, his eyes yellow and full of malice.

"Who are you?" Malefor asked with a frightened growl.

The dragon just smiled and bared its sharp teeth.

"I am your dark side, your desire for dominance…your own self," the dragon said.

Malefor couldn't believe what he just heard. He took a few steps back in fear.

"No…it's not true. It's not true!" he yelled.

Malefor slipped and fell off the mountain. He hit the ground with a loud thud but he wasn't dead. Slowly, Malefor got up groggily and watched the Destroyer walk by him, moving back a bit before he got crushed by the massive legs. Behind him, the purple dragon landed down gracefully and folded his wings.

"Isn't that thing a beauty?" the dragon asked.

"You maniac, you're going to destroy the world with that thing!" Malefor yelled while pointing angrily at the Destroyer.

"That is the purpose of purple dragons, young Malefor. We bring about the great cleansing of the world and the Destroyer is our tool. You will soon find out on how to resurrect it," the dragon said darkly.

"Why me? I don't want any of this. I'm not evil, Kaoru said so!" Malefor shot back angrily.

"Kaoru this, Kaoru that. You naïve fool, Kaoru is no one and she's nothing but a stumbling block! One of these days, she'll betray your feelings," the dragon thundered.

"I refuse to believe you! You're trying to manipulate me, aren't you? Well, it won't work! I know myself better than you do! You're not the future me; you're a maniac!" Malefor said loudly amidst the death and destruction going on.

"Suit yourself, Malefor, but don't say that you've not been warned," the dragon said and leapt towards Malefor with claws ready.

Malefor brought up his arms to shield himself from the attack but none came. The scene changed again and this time, she saw Kaoru lying dead in the middle of a burning town square.

"Kaoru!" Malefor yelled and tried to reach out to her.

She turned her head to face Malefor with a lifeless expression. Malefor stopped dead in his tracks as he saw that.

"Why…" she muttered mournfully.

Malefor let out a scream and woke up suddenly with his paws curled into a fist. He looked around his room, his eyes darting back and forth quickly, as if expecting a zombie to jump out at him. All he heard was the cold wind blowing into his room through the window, the curtains flapping eerily like white specters. Malefor was panting and he forced himself to calm down.

"It was only a dream…a bizarre one if I must add," Malefor said to himself.

He looked at the manuscript on the table beside his bed and shook his head.

"It's only a damn dream. It cannot be real…it shouldn't be real. I'm only having a nightmare," Malefor mumbled.

He looked at the sky. It was still dark and the moons were at their peak. He didn't feel like sleeping now so he lit the candles and decided to entertain himself by reading a book called _Mystery of the Apocalypse_. It was a mystery book laced with elements of horror so he quickly kept the book and took another one to read. Somehow, all books had elements of horror and that really pissed him off. It was as if his father was trying to scare him when he's at his weakest.

"Stupid horror books," Malefor growled.

He went back to bed and set there for a while, letting the flicker of candles hypnotize him to sleep. It worked and soon enough, Malefor felt drowsy and he fell back onto his pillow, sleeping soundly. Thankfully, the nightmare did not occur again and Malefor had a peaceful sleep. The next day, Malefor spent his free time doing translations again but this time, it wasn't as easy as it seems.

"This…I don't get it at all. It's far tougher than I thought," Malefor said.

He drummed his claws on the table and was deep in thought. After a while, he put down the quill and sighed angrily.

"Fine, I'll deal with you later," Malefor said.

Thinking of nothing else better to do around, he decided to play a prank on his mentor. Malefor crept towards the balcony outside his room and peeked over it. He saw Val'thir standing right below the balcony, talking to a bone guard. Malefor took a basin of water and dragged it to the balcony.

"He'll never see this coming," Malefor said with a gleam in his right eye.

Malefor hefted the basin over the balcony and poured out the water. After five seconds, the water splashed and Malefor heard Val'thir screaming.

"Heh, bull's-eye," Malefor grinned and chuckled secretly.

He had nothing to do after that and he loathed being bored. It was playtime but again, he reminded himself that he was grounded. Although he stuck to his conscience, Malefor couldn't take it anymore after half an hour. He snuck out of the castle and ran towards the playground without being seen by the guards. He saw the four dragon friends playing soccer.

"What took you so long? We needed a referee," Cyril said.

"Sorry but I got locked up a bit. So, what's the plan?" Malefor asked.

"We're playing soccer but we're short of a referee. Can you help us keep score?" Terrador asked.

"If it doesn't involve getting hurt, I'm cool with it," Malefor said.

"Great, that should do. Let's start the game all over again so we can keep score on the real score rather than thinking that you've scored a goal when you clearly didn't," Terrador said while looking at Cyril.

"What?!" Cyril asked defensively.

They started the game when Ignitus had called more dragons to play soccer. However, Malefor did not dare linger long and he left before sunset. On his way back, he met Kaoru waiting under a tree.

"Who are you waiting for?" Malefor asked.

"Umm…my father," Kaoru said without looking at Malefor.

Malefor looked at her and scratched his head. Kaoru didn't look happy and her eyes seem to tell Malefor of an untold sorrow.

"You look sad. Did something happen to you?" Malefor asked.

"Look, just stay away from me from now on. My parents will not tolerate you being close to me. As much as I want to be close to you, I can't," Kaoru sniffed.

"Oh…that's sad," Malefor said.

"My father isn't happy and he'll be arriving soon. You better go. Until the day we can meet again, please promise me that you won't forget me," Kaoru said.

Malefor bit his lower lip and nodded.

"Well, in that case…I'll see you later…maybe…after many years, I dunno," Malefor said sadly.

He hated losing friends because she was the only dragoness he knew that was kind enough to approach him and make friends with him, even though she was afraid of him initially. They were friends for like only a few days and now, they can't see each other. It reminded Malefor of a romance story written by one William Shakespear…or was it William Shakesword…whoever he was he was definitely a well-known writer from Novus Terra.

"By the Ancestors, why me?" Malefor lamented.

He felt someone tap his shoulder. It was Volteer and he looked concerned.

"Malefor, I can't help but feel that you're disturbed by something. You weren't exactly enjoying yourself today and what's with the lamenting? You're really a drama queen," Volteer smiled.

"You wouldn't understand what's going on. I feel so irritated that I want to scream and burn everyone," Malefor said.

"You're still a young dragon like the rest of us. How can you be so depressed? If you're as old as an adult dragon, I don't blame you," Volteer said kindly.

"I'm no old dragon but I'm being plagued with anger for some reason," Malefor said.

Volteer turned his head and saw a sad-looking Kaoru sitting under a pine tree. He then nodded and smiled slyly at the purple dragon.

"I see…so you broke up with someone you loved eh," Volteer said.

"Look, she and I are only friends, not lovers or something," Malefor said irately.

"Of course," Volteer remarked dryly.

Malefor sighed and looked at Volteer.

"I need to go home. My father will skin me alive if he knows that I snuck out without his permission," Malefor said.

"You mean you…" Volteer said and stopped halfway.

"Yes, Volteer, I came out without permission. I'm just feeling bored so I thought I join you guys in a game," Malefor said.

"Ah, that is understandable but…I still don't understand why you're sad," Volteer muttered.

Malefor smiled weakly at Volteer and looked in front of him.

"That is something I'd rather keep a secret," said Malefor and walked away from Volteer.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the slow upload. I wasn't feeling very well when I wrote this so I had to delay it for a while.**


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